It was Blockbuster’s slogan back in the day. Sadly, there’s no going back for the once-mighty movie rental powerhouse as the only store left in the world (Bend, Oregon) turned into an Airbnb this week.
It’s universally accepted that the rise of streaming services like Netflix were a major contributing factor to the end of an era. Still, Blockbuster had every chance to position themselves in the same way. In fact, they turned down the opportunity to buy Netflix for a steal in 2000.
While we won’t know exactly what went on inside their leadership team, Blockbuster failed to identify a bunch of business blind spots that brought about their downfall.
In unpredictable times such as these, it’s easy to batten down the hatches, keep doing the same things and hope it all blows over. The trouble is, there’s a good chance your competitors are modifying their offering to suit the new market conditions.
Making decisions for long term success might seem scary, but if you stand still or go backwards, it won’t be long before the eject button gets hit.
Are there any defunct brands that you miss? Let me know in the comments.